TMO Reports - Intel Macs Still on Target for June '06; More PowerPC Macs in the Pipeline

During Tuesday's conference call with analysts, Tim Cook, Apple's Executive Vice-President of Worldwide Sales and Operations, confirmed that Intel Macs are still on target for shipping by next June. In addition, he said: "I will tell you that we have some very cool PowerPCs in the pipeline, and we are very focused on our current line-up."

Many analysts have expressed concern over the possible risk to Mac sales posed by the transition to Intel processors. When SG Cowen's Richard Chu asked if there were any possible caveats to the current quarter's sales guidance, Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer replied: "I am not going to get into everything that we have factored into our guidance. We have given you our guidance, and we are reasonably confident that we can achieve it."

Mr. Oppenheimer continued: "As regard to our Intel announcement, as Tim said, we have seen no obvious impact to our business in the September quarter, but we are continuing to monitor it."

While rumors of a video iPod and other new MP3 players have dominated the talk concerning Wednesday's media event, some Web sites have speculated that Apple will also introduce updated desktops and/or laptops.